On April 12th, PRE4CLE, in partnership with Groundwork Ohio, Starting Point, and Invest in Children hosted the Cuyahoga County Early Childhood Equity Forum. Based on Groundwork Ohio’s Early Childhood Race and Rural Equity Report, the forum was the start of an important conversation about how our community can ensure that all children have the opportunities they need to prepare them for school. During the forum, participants examined important early childhood data, explored how racial inequity impacts kindergarten readiness in Cuyahoga County and throughout Ohio, and discussed a systemic approach to solutions. 

Groundwork Ohio published the Ohio Early Childhood Race and Rural Equity Report to bring greater understanding among policymakers and stakeholders of how race and location matters to the policies, institutions, and systems that shape the future for children and families in Ohio. Taking action begins with honest and sincere conversations. Achieving equity for Ohio kids requires all of us to begin to take responsibility for the things we can change by challenging our assumptions, investing in the evidence, and recognizing what we don’t know. During the forum, Groundwork Policy Director & Legal Counsel, Lynanne Gutierrez, presented state- and county-level early childhood data from their report.

The forum was facilitated by Maureen Joseph, LMSW. Ms. Joseph is the President of TransSpire LLC, a life coaching and training company. Currently she is partnering with Loyola University New Orleans Counseling Program where she is facilitating a racial processing group using a model she developed entitled “The What, Whys and How of Race: The Cloak of Many Colors™.” In addition, she is an Adjunct Professor at both Tulane University School of Social Work and Loyola University in New Orleans. Maureen is a member of the People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond training team, where she focuses on educating and organizing individuals and community-based organizations to develop anti-racism networks to promote social transformation across the country. Maureen has a master’s degree in social work from Tulane University in New Orleans. Maureen’s presentation and facilitated discussion explored the legacies of historical trauma and their impact on racial disparities and how working to resolve the legacies could be a pathway to closing the gaps.

The last part of the day consisted of small group work to begin the conversation about how to address racial disparities and the historical and structural racism that underlies these disparities. We are currently working with our partners to sift through the feedback from participants and develop next steps. Stay tuned!

You can view photos from the event on our Facebook page. Additionally, Freshwater Cleveland published a story about the event and representatives from PRE4CLE, Groundwork, and Starting Point appeared on Sound of Ideas prior to the event. Additional event materials and related upcoming events can be found here. 

To get more information about this effort and receive notices about future opportunities, please email info@pre4cle.org.